1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a management system and a management method for managing the exchange sequence of exchange electric storage devices for exchanging electric storage devices installed on vehicles, and more particularly to a technique for setting an exchange electric storage device as a preferential exchange object according to a degree of deterioration of a plurality of exchange electric storage devices that are being stored.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hybrid vehicles and electric automobiles that travel by using drive power from a motor have recently attracted attention as means for solving environmental problems. An available technique employed in such vehicles is to install electric storage devices such as secondary batteries and charge these electric storage devices by using commercial power supplied to the home of the vehicle owner.
In addition to the possibility of charging the electric storage device at home, the user of a vehicle where the electric storage device is installed can be provided per request with a paid service of exchanging the electric storage device with decreased charge amount for a charged electric storage device. At the locations where such service is provided, a plurality of exchange electric storage devices are managed to provide the aforementioned service to a plurality of users.
Concerning the provision of such service, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-182310 (JP-A-2007-182310) discloses a storage battery circulation management system that can save user's time and effort required for a charging operation. Such a storage battery circulation management system manages circulation of charged storage batteries between a plurality of stations where the storage batteries are exchanged. The storage battery circulation management system includes a station terminal device disposed at a station and managing inventory information for the storage batteries, a movable body terminal device that is disposed on a movable body that transports a charged storage battery, and a central management device configured to be data communicable with the station terminal device and the movable body terminal device. The station terminal device transmits data relating to the inventory information to the central management device at a predetermined timing. The central management device uses the data relating to the inventory information to generate data relating to storage battery transportation information, and transmits the storage battery transportation information to the movable body terminal device.
With the aforementioned storage battery circulation management system disclosed in JP-A-2007-182310, the charged storage batteries can be efficiently circulated between the stations where the storage batteries are exchanged and user's time and effort required for a charging operation can be saved. In particular, where the exchange object is a storage battery to be used for driving an electric automobile, long-distance use of electric automobiles by the users can be enabled and a contribution can be made to popularization of electric automobiles.
However, when a plurality of exchange electric storage devices are to be exchanged, there can be a shortage of storage locations for exchange electric storage devices. The resultant problem is that the exchange electric storage devices cannot be adequately managed. Further, when deteriorated exchange electric storage devices are stored for a long time in a discharged state or a state close to a fully charged state, the deterioration thereof further advances. The resultant problem is that the plurality of stored exchange electric storage devices cannot be managed so as to ensure a uniform degree of deterioration.
In the electric storage device circulation system disclosed in JP-A-2007-182310, these problems are neither taken into account nor resolved.